Sheet transporting and stacking apparatus.



-G. Z. SMITH. SHEET TRANSPORTING AND STACKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7, 191 4.

Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I- WITNESSES.

ATTORNEY G. Z. SMITH. SHEET TRANSPORTING AND STACKING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7. 1914.

0 Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I19 L 31g.-

z 39 6'2 v 4 4 1 1/0 1 a7 66 |NVENTE|R- I WITNESSES? ATTIJRNEY.

e. 2. SMITH. V SHEET TRANSPORTING AND STACKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-7.1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Patented June 1, 1915.

INVENTUR WITNE55ES: 7626 ATTEIRNEY.

6. Z. SMITH. SHEET TRANSPORTING AND STACKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7, 1914.

1 1%LQYY Patented June 1, 1915 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ATTIJN EY resident of Follansbee, county of Brooke,

GEORGE Z. SMITH, 03E FOLLANSBEE, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD T0 THOMAS H. ROGERS AND ONE-THIRD T0 GILBERT FOLLANSBEE, BOTH OF FOL- LANSBEE, WEST VIRGINIA.

SHEET TRANSPORTING AND STACKING APPARATUS;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June it, 1915-.

Application filed February 7, 1914.. Serial Nth 817,376.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GnoReE Z. SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, and

and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet Transporting and Stacking Apparatus, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to apparatus for handling metal sheets, and specifically to a machine for receiving sheets of metal as they emerge from a pair of rolls and conveying the same away and depositing them in a pack or pile.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whereby sheets of marily for handling sheets employed in the manufacture of tin and terne plate, which is adapted to receive sheets from the cold rolls and deliver the same in an even pile on the base or stand of an annealing box and which embodies means whereby the delivery mechanism is elevated automatically as the height of the pile is increased.

A still further object is to provide, in a device of the character mentioned, a carrying-off table which is so constructed and has its receiving end so mounted that it may be readily removed from proximity to the rolls to admit of convenient access to the latter for polishing and the like.

With these and other objects in View, the invention resides in the features of construction, arrangement of parts and combinations of elements which will hereinafter be exemplified, reference being 'had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which' Figure l is a side elevation of the invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the delivery end; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, showing the carrying-0H table and associated parts in top plan; Fig. 4 is an enlarged end elevation illustrating details of the actuating mechanism for the table elevating means; Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 4, illustrating the mecha- .9isatop nism for evenly alining the sheets, other parts being omitted for the sake of clearness; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66, Fig. 5; Fig. '1 is a detail section taken on line 77, Fig. 4:; Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section taken on line 8 8, Fig. 2, illusthroughout the several views 1 and 2 indicate,

respectively, the upper and lower rolls of a pair of cold rolls which are mounted in any sultable manner, as in the usual housings 3.

Pivotally and removably mounted on suitable supporting brackets, as 4, which are rigidly attached to the inner faces of said housings, are the hub-like portions 5 of bearings 5 in which are journaled the opposite ends of a shaft 6 which lies parallel to the rolls on the exit side thereof. Mounted on said bearings 5 are the ends of the side members 7 of a substantially rectangular frame which constitutes a part of a sectional carrying-off table which will now be described.

The outer or forward ends of the sidemembers 7 are disposed within the embrace of oppositely-disposed angle-bars 8 which constitute-the side-members of a second sub stantially rectangular frame forming another part of said carrying-off table, the first mentioned frame being telescopic with respect to said second frame. The opposite side-members 7 have their said outer ends connected by a cross-brace 9, and journaled in suitable bearings 10 carried by said members 7 adjacent to said cross-brace is a shaft 11 having a plurality of belt wheels or pulleys l2 fixed thereon, said pulleys being connected by belts 13 to similar pulleys 14 fixed upon the shaft 6.

The side members 8 of the second frame have their rear ends embracing the forward, or outer, ends of the side members 7', the latter normally extending to a point a considerable distance in advance of the rear ends of said side-members 8. A. cross-brace 15 rigidly connects the rear ends of sidemembers 8, as shown. Journaled in bearings 16 carried by said members 8 adjacent to said cross-brace 15 is a shaft 17 having a plurality of belt-wheels or pulleys 18 fixed thereon, said pulleys being located in staggered relation to the pulleys 12 located on the adjacent shaft 11. Said pulleys 18 are connected by belts 19 to similar pulleys 20 fixed on a shaft 21 journaled in vertically movable slides 22 and 22 bearings 23 upon which the outer ends of the side-members 8 are mounted.

Motion is communicated to the shaft 6 by means of a power-transmission belt or chain 24 from a drive-shaft 25 journaled in bearings 26 located below and in advance of said shaft 6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. From said shaft 6 motion is communicated through the belts 13 to shaft 11 which carries on one end thereof a bevel-gear 27 in mesh with a similar gear 28 carried by a transmissiongear shaft, or countershaft, 29 which isjournaled in bracket-like bearings 30 and 30', the former carried by the side-members 7 and the latter by side-members 8. A bevel gear 31 is mounted on the countershaft 29 close against the bearing 30 and has said countershaft 29 movable therethrough. Said bevel gear 31 is in mesh with a similar gear 1 tween the cold rolls 1 and 2 32 on the adjacent end of shaft 17. Motion is thus communicated to the shaft 17 through the gears 27 and '28, countershaft 29, and gears 31 and 32, whence motion is thence communicated to belts 19 and thence through the latter to shaft 21. I

From the foregoing it will be apparent that any variation in the length of the table produced by telescopic movement of the table sections will not affect the transmission ofpower from the one table section to the other, it being understood that bevelgear 31 is splined or feathered on the countershaft 29 and is movable therealong with movement of the members 8 so as to maintain its meshing engagement with bevel-gear 32. Displacement of said gear 31 is pre vented due to the fact that it abuts against bracket or bearing 30 on one side and against gear 32 on the other.

As the sheets of'metal emerge from beon the belts 13 and are thereby transported forward and deposited on the belts 19 by which they are transported forward and dropped upon an annealing base 33 located in front of the forward end of the table. For arranging the sheets after their delivery so that they will form an evenly alined pile or pack upon said annealing base, and thus be properly positioned for undergoing the annealing process, a sheet adjusting mechanism is provided, said mechanism comprising, in part, a pair of sheet alining plates 34 and 35, the former being adapted to engage the rear ends of the sheets and the latter to engage one of the lateral edges of the sheets, by means of which the sheets are and revoluble in they are received.

pushed up squarely against the two sides of a removable stacking guide or gage plate 36 which is mounted in a stationary upright position on the annealing base, the sides of said gage plate being disposed at right angles to each other. The sheetalining plate 34 is rigidly mounted in upright position upon the end of an arm 37 mounted upon a cross-member 38 which has its ends mounted upon the lower ends of the vertically movable, guides 22 and 22. Said arm 37 reciprocates back and forth across said cross-member 38, being slidable through and guided by a sleeve or keeper 39, mounted on said cross-member, and a sleeve or keeper 40 mounted on a rearward extension 41 of said cross-member. Attached to, or formed integral with, said arm 37 at a point intermediate its ends is a yoke 42 between the vertically. disposed parallel members of sprocket wheel 49 fixed on shaft 21, said crank-shaft being thus driven from said shaft 21 and transmitting through the intermediate parts a regularly timed reciprocating movement to the sheet alining plate 34.

The sheet-aiming plate 35 is mounted upon a pair of vertically alined horizontal bars 50 which are pivoted at points substantially midway between their ends upon the inner ends of links 51 having their opposite ends pivotally mounted upon the end of one arm of a bell-crank lever 52 which has its angle portion pivotally mounted on a suitable stationary part, as the extension 41 of cross-member 38. The end of the opposite arm of said lever is connected by a link 53 to the reciprocating arm 37. Thus, as is apparent, reciprocating movement of said arm 37 actuates the bell-crank lever to swing on its pivotal mounting, advancing and retracting the plate 35 with respect to the adjacent lateral edge of the pile of sheets deposited on the annealing base! For maintaining said plate 35 in a position at substantially a right angle to plate 34 throughout its entire range of movement, so that its face is presented squarely to the edges of the sheets being piled, a reach-rod or equalizing bar 54 is pivoted at one end to one of the bars 50 and at its opposite end to a fixed point, as the extension 41 of crossmember 38.

At the beginning of the sheet stacking operation the carryingpif table occupies a substantially horizontal position; but, as is obvious, it is necessary as the work progresses to elevate the delivery end of the table from time to time in order to maintain said delivery end in proper relation to the pile being formed. This elevating movement is accomplished automatically by suitable mechanism which, in part, comprises a frame disposed adjacent to the delivery end of the table. Composing a part of said frame is a pair of upright parallel members, or standards, 55 and 56 located at one side of the table in stationary positions, said standards. being mounted upon a'suitable foundation, as a sill 57; and mounted on a sill 58, also forming a part of said foundation, is a pair of upright parallel frame members or standards 59' and 60 which are located directly opposite the standards 55 and 56. The standards 55 and 56 constitute a guideway in which the slide 22, hereinbefore referred to, is vertically movable, while the standards 59 and 60 constitute a guideway for slide 22.

Fixed at a suitable point upon each of the side-members 8 of the forward section of the carrying-off table is a plate 61 having a trunnion 62. Said trunnions are mounted in the ends of the members of a yoke or stirrup 63 which is suspended on the end of a cable or chain 64 which is passed over suitably arranged pulleys or chain wheels 65 and 66 mounted respectively on shafts 67 and 68 journaled in bearings which are mounted on cross-members carried by the standards 55, 56, 59 and and by two upright posts 69 located on opposite sides of the table and mounted upon the sills 57 and 58. A weight 70 suspended on the opposite end of said chain 64 partially counterbalances the weight of the delivery end of the table and serves to minimize the power required to elevate said end together with the mechanism sustained thereby.

As hereinbefore indicated, the table is automatically elevated at intervals. This elevation is accomplished by movement of chain 64 from which the delivery end of the table is suspended. However, the distance through which said end is elevated at any one time is limited and the elevating movements are intermittent. The mechanism by which the elevating movement is accomplished and interrupted will now be described. A shaft 71 has one end journaled in the slide 22 which operates in the guideway constituted by the standards 55 and 56, and is journalcd at its opposite end in a bearing 72 provided on a bracket 73 located on the cross-beam 38 at a point adjacent to the opposite slide 22. Said shaft has loosely mounted thereon a gear-wheel 74 in mesh with a gear or pinion 7 5 carried by shaft 21. Said gear-wheel 74 has a hub 76 which is notched to form one member of an interlocking clutch, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4, the opposite member of said clutch being constituted by a correspondingly notched sleeve 7 7 which is feathered loosely on the shaft 71. A spiral spring 78 is disposed on said shaft between a stationary collar 79 and the outer end of the clutch member 77 so as to exert pressure against the latter for thrusting it into interlocking engagement with the oposite member 76 for locking the gear-wheel 4 on the shaft 71, causing motion to be transmitted through said gear-wheel to said shaft from the constantly rotating shaft 21. Mounted upon, or formed integral with the sleeve or clutch member 77 is a substantially cylindrical member or portion 80 having an outwardly projecting nose 80 which is beveled, as shown at 81 in Fig. 4, on the side nearest to gear-Wheel 74. Said member or portion 80, which will hereinafter be termed a cam, is adapted to have the beveled face of its nose 80 normally engaged by the upright arm 82 of a rocker-shaft 83 which is journaled in a suitable bearing, as 84, provided on the cross-member 38, and to be thereby maintained, against the tension of spring 78, in a position holding said clutch-member 77 retracted with respect to the opposite member 76. Said-rocker-shaft has its opposite end shaped to form a crank 85 which is loosely disposed in the slot 86 of a link 87. Said link is pivotally connected at its forward end to the lower end of a substantially upright lever 88 which is pivoted intermediate its ends upon a bracket 89 fixed on the rear face of sheet-alining plate 34. V The upper end of said lever 88 rests against the face of a cam 90 which is pivotally mounted on a suitable lug or lugs, as 91, fixed on the rear face of said plate 34, and which has a downwardly and forwardly inclined arm 92 projected through said-plate 34 and operable in a slot 93 provided in the latter. A spring 94 having one end mounted in a suitable manner, as on a bracket 95 attached to the rear face of said plate 34, has

its free end disposed in pressure exerting relation to the upper end of lever 88 whereby the latter is normally maintained in a forwardly thrust position, holding the cam 90 in the position shown in Fig. 8 and holding the link 87 thrust rearward in the position shown in said figure so the rocker shaft 88 is ermitted to retain its normal osition.

arried on the end of shaft 1 on the outer side of bearing bracket 73 is a bevelgear 96 in mesh with a similar gear 97 fixed on a short shaft 98 which is journaled in bearings 99 and 100 provided at the ends of a bracket 101 mounted on cross-member 38, as is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. A sprocket wheel 102 fixed on said shaft 98 has a chain 103 passed thereunder, one member of said chain extending therefrom in an upwardly and outwardly inclined direction to and over a sprocket wheel 104 suitably located in an elevated position, as on a supporting bracket 105 carried by the cross chain,

" its end rigidly attached members mounted on the standards 55, 56, 59, 60 and 69, said member of 103 thencedepending in a loop and having at a suitable point, as 106. A pulley take-up weight 107 is mounted in the said depending loop of the as is clearly shown in Fig. 2. The other member of said chain 103 passes upward to and over a sprocket wheel 108 located on shaft 68, thence to and over a sprocket wheel 109 from which it depends in a loop and has its end connected at a fixed point, as 110, a pulley take-up weight 111 being mounted in the last-mentioned loop.

. In practice, when the pack or pile has grown to a point where, at the end of a forward reciprocation of alining plate 34, the lower end of the arm 92 of cam 90 strikes against said pack or pile, said arm is there by forced back into a substantially vertical position within the slot 93 of said plate 34,

thus, through the intermediacy of cam 90 and lever 88, producing a forward movement of link 87- which acts to rotate the rocker-shaft 83 forward, efieeting the with.- drawal of arm 82 from interlocking engagement with the nose 80 of cam80. This action releases clutch member 77 which, actuated by spring 78, is immediately thrust into engagement with the constantly rotated clutch-member 76, and the motion of the latter is thus communicated'to shaft 71. From I and 97, shaft 98 and 83 so that, when the shaft 71 the last mentioned shaft motion is communicated, through the intermediacy of gears 96 sprocket wheel 102, to the chain 10$which is thus caused to move forwardthat is, toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2. This movement of the chain produces, through the intermediacy of sprocket wheel 108, shaft 68 and sprocket wheel 66, an elevating movement of chain 64: from which the delivery end of the table is suspended, as hereinbefore explained. When the sheet-alining plate 34 moves back from the pack or pile in its return reciprocation, the spring 94- a ctuates the cam 90 and the link 87 to return to their normal positions, the return of said link releasing rocker-shaft has nearly completed a revolution, an inclined or beveled face 112 formed on the arm 82 thereof will be engaged by the correspondingly inclined or beveled face 81 of the nose 80 of cam 80 and thereby carried back to an upright position. In moving to said position said arm 82 acts to gradually retract the clutch member 77 against thetension of spring 78 until it is wholly released from engagement with the rotating clutch member 7 6, whereupon the elevating movement of the table ceases.

For locking the shaft 71 against the possibility of rearward rotation, a dog or pawl 118 pivoted on a bracket 114 provided on the slide 22 drops at the proper moment into a properly located notch 115 provided in the the chain periphery of a disk 116 which is fixed on said shaft7 1, as shown in Fig. 11.

For preventing chance dropping of the front end of the table, a safety lock may be provided. Said lockis preferably made removable or detachable and consists simply of a metal member 117 havinga downwardly and forwardly inclined finger or bill 118 on one end adapted to seat in interlocking engagement with the teeth of a vertical rackbar 119 mounted upon the inner side of the standard 55, as shown in Fig. 11, and having a notch or recess 120 formed therein in opposing and spaced relation to said bill for the reception of shaft 21. The body portion of said member 117 serves as a handle by means of which it may be grasped when it is desired to insert or detach it.

The sheet-alining plate 35 preferably has formed integral therewith at its upper edge an upwardly and outwardly inclined extension 121, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, tand 6, by means of which sheets whose lateral edges are received thereon are caused to slide inward toward the pack or pile. Said extension is preferably corrugated or has its upper face shaped to form a series of longitudinal steps adapted, when engaged by the edge of a sheet, to force same inward toward the pile.

When it is desired to obtain ready access to the exit side of the rolls 1 and 2, as when it is desired to polishsa-id rolls, the rear end of the table is raised up by hand until the hubs 5 of the bearings 5 have cleared the brackets 4, whereupon the rearmost table section is telescoped within the foremost section, being forced forward with respect to the last mentioned section. This movement is readily permitted by reason of the location of the drive-shaft 25 with respect to shaft 6 and the flexible chain connection between said shafts, and also by reason of the shaft 29 being freely slidable through bevelgear 31. As is obvious, when the delivery end of the table is raised and lowered, the foremost table section has a slight telescopic movement with respect to the rear section, and such movement is accomplished without in any way disturbing the operation of the belts 13and 19 or their driving mechanism.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a carrying-off table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, means actuated by said conveying means for evenly stacking sheets delivered from said table, said stacking means comprising reciprocating devices which operate at right angles to each other, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for intermittently elevating the delivery end of said table a predetermined distance.

2. In apparatus for transporting and means actuated by said conveying means for evenly stacking sheetsdelivered from said table, said stacking means comprising a device which reciprocates againstthe rear ends of said sheets and a device which moves against one of the lateral edges of said sheets, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets, for intermittently elevating the delivery end of said table a predetermined distance.

3. In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, sheet stacking means actuated by said conveying means and operating against two adjacent edges of the sheets delivered from the conveying means, said stacking means comprising a longitudinally reciprocating sheet pushing device and a laterally reciprocating sheetpushing device, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for intermittently elevating the delivery end of said table a predetermined distance.

4. In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, sheet-stacking means actuated by said conveying means, automatic means for elevating the delivery end of said table, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for intermittently actuating said elevating means.

5. In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, sheet-stacking means actuated by said conveying means, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for intermittently elevating the delivery end of the table apredetermined distance.

6. In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, sheet-stacking means actuated by said conveying means, automatic means for intermittently elevating the delivery end of the table a predetermined distance, and means set in oper ation by contact with the stack of sheets for actuating said elevating means.

In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, sheet-stacking means actuatedby said conveying means, automatic means for intermittently elevating the delivery end of the table a predetermined distance, and means set in operation by contact with the stack of sheets whereby said elevating means is actuated.

In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a table, sheet-conveying means mounted on said table, sheet-stacking mechanlsm actuated bysaid conveying means, normally inoperative means for elevating the delivery end of the table, and

means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets whereby, when the top of the stack of sheets has assumed a certain position with V respect to said delivery end, said elevating means is rendered operative.

9. In apparatus for transporting and piling metal sheets, a table, sheet-conveying means mounted on said table, sheet-stacking mechanism actuated by said conveying means, means for elevating the delivery end of the table, means normally holding said elevating. means inoperative, means'temporarily rendering said holding means ineffective, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets,where)by,when said stack has reached a certain height w1th respect to the position of said delivery end, the last mentioned means is rendered operative.

10. In a sheet transporting apparatus, a carrying-oft" table having its rear end pivotally mounted, sheet conveying mounted on said table, means supporting the front end of said table, means for intermittently elevating said supporting means a predetermined distance, means normally maintaining said elevating means inoperative, sheet stacking means actuated by said conveying means, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for tripping said elevating means.

11. In a sheet-transporting and stacking apparatus, a carrying-off table having its rear end pivotally mounted, means supporting the delivery end of said table, means for elevating said supporting means, said elevating means including a clutch-mechanism, means normally holding said clutch mechanism inoperative, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for releasing said clutch mechanism to permit said elevating means to operate.-

12. In a sheet-transporting and stacking apparatus, a carrying-ofi' table havlng its rear end pivotally mounted, means supporting the delivery end of said table, elevating said supporting means, said elevating means including a clutch-mechanism, means normally holding said clutch mechanism inoperative, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for temporarily releasing said clutch mechanism to permit said elevating means to make a movement of predetermined extent.

13. In a sheet-transporting and stacking apparatus, a carrying-off table having its rear end pivotally mounted, automatic means for elevating the front end of said table, means normally holding said elevat ng means inoperative, and tripping mechanism whereby said holding means is disengaged from said elevating means, said tripping mechanism (being actuated by engagement with the stack of sheets when the latter has assumed a certain elevation with respect to the position of the front end of the table.

means for means 14. In a sheet-transporting and stacking carried by said table, means driven by said transporting mechanism for elevating the front end of said table, means normally holding said elevating means inoperative, means for disengagingsaid holding means from said elevating means at predetermined intervals, and means embodied in said ele: vating means and in said holding means whereby the latter resumes its normal relation to the former when a predetermined elevating movement of the table has been accomplished.

15. In a sheet-trans ortingand stacking apparatus, a table having its rear end pivotally mounted, sheet-transporting mechanism carried by said table, means driven by said transporting mechanism for elevating the front end of said table, means normall holding said elevating means inoperative, a'

- constantly reciprocating sheet-alining member operating against the stack of sheets, and means associated with said member whereby said holding means is actuated to release said elevating means.

16. In a sheet-transporting and stacking apparatus, a table having its rear end pivotally mounted, sheet-transporting mechanism carried by said table, means driven by said transporting mechanism for elevating the front end of said table, means normally holding said elevating means inoperative, a

constantly reciprocating sheet-alining member operating agalnst the stack of sheets,

and means associated with said member for tripping said holding means when the stack has reached a predetermined elevation with respect to said member.

17. In a sheet transporting and stacking apparatus, the combination with a twosided stacking guide, of a carrying-ofi' table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, a sheet alining member for adjusting the sheets lengthwise against said guide, a second sheet alining member for adjusting the sheets laterally against said guide, means actuated by said conveying means for reciprocating said sheet-alining member, and

means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for intermittently elevating the delivery end of said table a predetermined distance.

18. Ina sheet-transporting and stacking apparatus, the combination with a twos'ided stacking guide, of a carrying-off table, sheet conveying means mounted on said table, a sheet alining member for adjusting the sheets lengthwise against said guide, means actuated by said conveying means for imparting reciprocating movement to said member, a second sheet alining member for adjusting the sheets laterally against said guide, a lever interposed between said second member and the movement-imparting means of the first-mentioned member whereby reciprocating, movement is imparted to said second member, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for inter- .mittently elevating the delivery end of said table a predetermined distance.

19. In asheet-transporting and stacking apparatus, the combination with a twosided stacking guide, of a carrying-ofl table,

ysheet conveying means mounted on said table a sheet alining member for adjusting the sheets lengthwise against said guide, means actuated by said conveying means for imparting reciprocating movement to said member, a bell-crank lever associated with said movement imparting means, a second sheet-alining member pivotally mounted on said lever and adapted to operate laterally with respect to the stack of sheets for adjusting sheets against said guide, and means actuated by contact with the stack of sheets for intermittently elevating the delivery end of said table a predetermined distance.

20. In a sheet-tranporting and stacking apparatus, the combination with a two-sided stacking guide, of a carrying-01f table, a sheet alining member' for' adjusting the sheets lengthwise against said guide, means imparting reciprocating movement to said member, a bell-crank lever associated with said movement imparting means, a second sheet-alining member pivotally mounted on said lever and adapted to operate laterally with respect to the stack of sheets for adj usting sheets against said guide, and means for maintaining said second member in parallel relation to said stack throughout its range of movement.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two subcribing witnesses.

H. E. DUNLAP, W. F. KEEFER. 

